A stronger dollar and the rising price of goods has pushed New York City up in the ranks of the world’s most expensive cities, but living in the five boroughs remains relatively affordable on a cost-of-living list compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Financial instability in Europe and a slow recovery from the recession in the U.S. has resulted in a stronger dollar and an increase in prices, boosting New York 19 places in the latest survey and lifting the ranks of all 16 U.S. cities profiled. New York is currently the 27th most expensive out of 131 cities in the study, up from 48 two years ago.

The Big Apple looks like a “relative bargain” compared to a decade ago, when it was the 10th most expensive city in the world, said survey editor Jon Copestake. Vancouver tops the new list as the most expensive city in North America.

The Worldwide Cost of Living survey, issued every other year, is designed to help expat workers, business travelers and companies weighing relocation decisions for its personnel. The survey uses New York as a baseline in its international comparisons.

Tokyo and Osaka in Japan, Sydney and Melbourne in Australia and Oslo in Norway were listed as the top five most expensive cities in the world on the Economist cost-of-living list. In the U.S., Cleveland and Atlanta offered the most value, both 30% cheaper than New York.

New studies released in recent months have pointed to New York City’s financial recovery and relative affordability. The city’s real-estate market has rebounded strongly from a post-recession dip, but apartment prices adjusted for inflation are their lowest since 2004, The Wall Street Journal reported last month. And when housing and transportation costs are weighed together, New York City is one of the more affordable in the U.S. for middle-income families, according to an October 2012 study.

But New York remains a challenging place to live for lower-income families, who have had to deal with a 16% rise in food prices since 2007, according to the Food Bank of New York City. Income levels have been stagnant or declining, and more New Yorkers are unemployed or settling for lesser-paid jobs than prior to the recession, said Jonathan Bowles, director of the New York-based Center for an Urban Future.

New York City’s job market “has held up much better than most other cities in the U.S. but the people that are doing the best are those with at least a four-year degree,” Bowles explained. “New York City has a growing technology sector, there’s high-end business services. But for a lot of people in the middle class with lower levels of educational attainment, they’re not doing well.”

A rise in living costs exacerbates an already difficult situation for middle- to lower-income families. “It’s made a city that’s never cheap, that much more out of reach,” Bowles said.